The Questions
- Where are you located?
- What are your prices?
- Do you have a minimum order?
- When should I order / send it out?
- How should I write / word it?
- What is your turnaround time?
- What are your terms of service?
- How do the enclosure bands work?
- Do they come assembled? / How do I assemble them?
- What does my invitation set weigh? / How much postage will it need?
- Do you offer your designs in languages other than English?
- Do you ship to other countries? / What shipping is available?
- What types of printing do you offer?
- What’s the difference between Digital Press and Offset Press?
- What’s the difference between Thermography and Letterpress?
- What are the standard envelopes? What other envelopes do you offer?
- What kind of paper do you use?
- What eco-friendly products do you offer?
- Do you offer custom design and illustration?
- Can the design I like be customized? / Can I change the colors, font style, etc? / Can I get X in lieu of Y?
- Do you offer references?
The Answers
Where are you located?
We are currently and online-only company based in Ferndale, Michigan, though we do hope to open up a design studio / shop in the not-too-distant future! We offer appointments as our schedules allow, and otherwise make our samples available via area bridal shows and expos. We currently meet with clients at the Caribou Coffee on Main St. in downtown Royal Oak.
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What are your prices?
Due to the fact that our products are completely custom, we need to know your selections before we can give you an accurate quote. You may contact us via our contact form for a free estimate. Please mention what printing type you are interested in (i.e. Digital Press, Offset Press or Letterpress), and what pieces you are would like.
Our wedding invitation suites includes the invitation, response card and envelopes. Everything else is offered a la carte. For example, we also offer coordinating details / directions cards, reception cards, enclosure bands, pocketfold enclosures, petal enclosures, vellum enclosures, seating charts, place cards, menus, table signs, wedding programs, etc. Really, anything is possible. Just ask!
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Do you have a minimum order?
Currently, our minimum quantity is 40. Our prices vary for very small quantities.
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When should I order/send my invites out?
First of all, do yourself a favor and don’t wait until the last minute! For your convenience, use this timeline below as a guide for when everything should be ordered and sent out.
- Order Invites: 3 to 12 months before
- Send Save the Dates: a minimum of 6 months before, or up to 1 year before if you have a popular date or destination wedding
- Send Invitations: 4-8 weeks before
- RSVP Deadline: no less than 2 weeks before, preferably about 30 days before
- Send Wedding Announcements: arrange to have sent the day after the wedding
- Send Thank You Cards: 1-2 weeks after, but better late than never!
How should I write / word it?
We have an entire page dedicated to proper etiquette!
Check it out here.
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What is your turnaround time?
For Digital and Offset printing, from the time you give us your final approval on your design, budget for approximately 10 business days before you receive your order (not including shipping). Most often, it is sooner, but keep in mind that you are getting an entirely custom product!
Letterpress has a 4-8 week turnaround.
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What are your terms of service?
Our terms of service are listed on the last page of any estimate or invoice you receive from us. It is also posted on our site at www.senorsenora.com/tos.
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How do the enclosure bands work?
The enclosure bands are either 2″ or 3″ wide by 11.5″ long and wrap around the entire invitation suite. They are secured by a gluestick (or two-sided tape) and ensure that when your invitation is pulled out of the envelope, it comes out altogether in one package. It’s really all about presentation, and is not a required item by any means. But, we have fun with it and think it adds a lil’ somethin’ special to the invitations.
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Do these come assembled?
How do I assemble them?
By default, your invitations do not come assembled in order to keep our costs down. However, assembly is offered and we can quote you on based on your individual project and the requested turnaround time.
Self Assembly
Usually you will just have to affix the enclosure band and put the invitation suite in the envelope. We recommend using a non-acidic, archival gluestick (older ones are even better – more tacky!). Example brands are UHU and Elmer’s.
The custom postage & wraparound labels.
You can also use two-sided tape, but make sure it is archival so it doesn’t yellow your invitations down the line!
For the wraparound labels, you just need to gently bend them to get the backing separated at one of the 1″ score-line intervals. Simply line up the label to be parallel with the bottom of the envelope and place the front of the label down first, then wrap the return address portion around the back. It’s pretty easy to get the hang of!
What does my invitation set weigh?
How much postage will it need?
You should always consult the USPS for current postage rates. They have an online postage calculator here: http://postcalc.usps.com/.
These weight measurements should help guide you in estimating your calculations. Please note that square envelopes are changed extra because they can’t be sorted by machines. Check with the post office for the current rates. (As of Sept. 9th, 2010, it’s an additional $0.20 fee.)
Not Over 1 oz. (standard postage)
- Digital Press Invitation Suite, including up to: the A7 invitations, 4bar response cards, up to 3″ wide enclosure bands, A2 details cards and envelopes.
- Offset Press Invitation Suite, including up to: the A7 invitations, 4bar response cards, up to 3″ wide enclosure bands, A2 details cards and envelopes.
- Offset Press Invitation Suite w/Postcard RSVP, including up to: the A7 invitation, 4″ x 6″ postcard response card, up to 3″ wide enclosure band, A2 details card and (1) envelope.
Not Over 2 oz.
- Offset Press Invitation Suite, including up to: the A7 invitations, 4bar response cards, A2 reception cards, A2 details cards, up to 3″ wide enclosure bands, and envelopes.
- Digital Invitation Suite w/Enclosure: the A7 invitation, 4bar response card , A7 pocketfolder or petal enclosure, A2 details card, up to 3″ enclosure band, and envelopes.
- (Square) Vinyl CDR Invitations, including up to: one vinyl CDR, 3.5″ x 5″ postcards response cards, and one 5.5″ square envelope.
Not Over 3 oz.
- (Square) 7″ Vinyl Record Invitations, including up to: one 7″ vinyl record, 4″ x 6″ postcard response cards, A7 details cards, foldover record jackets with plastic sleeves, and (1) 7.5″ envelope.
Do you offer your designs in languages other than English?
Yes! We can do just about any language so long as you provide the text.
Do you ship to other countries?
Yes, we do! So far we don’t have restrictions but we’ll post them here if and when we do.
Shipping Options
- We are currently using the USPS Priority Mail flat-rate shipping boxes, which is inexpensive and offers very affordable and fast shipping.
- Very small orders may fit in the small box ($6.95), but most orders require the large flat-rate box ($16.95).
- Quotes for shipping via UPS and FedEx are available upon request.
What types of printing do you offer?
We offer several methods of printing to accommodate every budget and style preference.
Flat Printing Options:
- Digital Press
- Offset Press
Dimensional Printing Options:
- Letterpress (embossed ink)
What’s the difference between Digital Press and Offset Press?
Both Digital Press and Offset Press offer flat printing.
Here’s a comparison on their differences:
Digital Press on linen paper
Digital (Offset) Press
Printing Process & Cost: Digital Press is printed directly from a computer without any setup costs. The cost per item is the same from 100 – 5000 prints, making short-runs very affordable. We offer these prints in increments of 5. Digital Press is also great because you get everything in full-color at the same cost. For papers, we offer 120 lb. cover weight paper with a cotton finish or smooth 105 lb. pearlescent cover weight paper. So, if a textured or pearlescent paper is important to you but your budget is tight, this is the way to go. Linen and other textured paper may be available by special order. Just ask!
Print Characteristics:The digital print is on uncoated paper, so areas where there is paper exposed remains completely matte. However, when viewed an angle you can see that the areas with heavy color have a very slight sheen to them. The print is on top of the paper and is not absorbed into it.
Offset Press with satin finish
Offset (Lithography) Press
Printing Process & Cost: For offset, plates are made for each color in the image. The images for the plates are then transferred onto a “rubber blanket” which grips the printing surface and impresses the image upon it. This allows for Offset printing to be done a a wide variety of materials. Due to the set-up cost of the plates for printing, Offset press is best suited for large quantities since the larger the quantity, the less the cost per item. For the same reason, it is only offered in increments of 25. Traditional Offset Printing is done per color in the image, so most of our designs must be simplified into 1-3 color combinations. (The cost goes up with the more colors you have.) 4-Color Process Printing (which is more economical for many colors) uses four inks: cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK), to create full color images. We mostly work with 4-Color Process offset printing.
Print Characteristics: offset sample is printed on a coated paper which allows for higher resolution for fine details in an image. The ink is absorbed into the paper. It also is coated with a semi-matte / satin finish which is really beautiful and unique in person. I especially like it on dark colors. The finish is very hard to describe, because viewed straight-on it appears matte, but at an angle it has a subtle sheen to it. If you are doing postcards for a response card or save the date, you can also opt for a high-gloss aqueous UV coating for offset, which protects the print in the mail and adds further durability.
Special Options: we can also get custom quotes for gold or silver foil stamping, spot UV gloss and custom die-cuts.
For photos of the difference between our digital and offset prints, check out this little ol’ blog post of ours.
What’s the difference between Thermography and Letterpress?
Both Thermography and Letterpress offer 3-dimensional printing.
Here’s a comparison on their differences:
Thermography (Thermographic Printing)
Printing Process & Cost: Thermographic printing is done the same way as Offset Printing (see above) except that the inks have a special substrate added to them that causes it to raise up when it passes through a thermal printing oven, of sorts. This gives the effect of raised ink printing, which simulates the very expensive engraving printing process.
Print Characteristics: The thermographic print can be done on the same papers that we use for digital, or even the 100% cotton paper that we use for letterpress. The ink is raised up off the paper, but is less even than an actual engraved print, which is how you can tell the difference.
NOTE: As of 10/10/10, we no longer offer thermography printing.
The embossed print of letterpress.
Letterpress
Printing Process & Cost: For letterpress, a metal plate is made for each color in the image, and the plate is literally pressed into the paper, creating an embossed effect. Cost-wise, letterpress is on the more expensive side due to the setup costs of the plates, plus the uniqueness and skill required for the printing press.
Print Characteristics: The inks in used in letterpress are semi-translucent and allow the paper to show through. Due to this translucent nature of the ink, interesting effects can be created with overlapping inks. Printing generally looks best when dark ink is used on light paper. A dark wash for a background with a light text color is not recommended for this process. We do our letterpress on a thick and very soft 100% cotton paper which allows for deep impressions. Blind imprints can also be done with letterpress, which embosses the image without ink.
What are your standard envelopes?
What other envelopes do you offer?
Our standard envelopes are beautiful Italian-made, 85 lb. text weight, textured envelopes in soft white. Their color goes well with invitations printed on either white or natural white paper. However, these are not available for square envelopes and for those, our standard envelopes are 80 lb. text weight pearlescent envelopes in quartz or opal.
We also offer custom color envelopes that are available in matte 70 lb. – 80 lb. text weight, or pearlescent 80 lb. text weight. When you receive a digital proof from us, we automatically pair the recommended custom colors that match your color theme in both the matte and pearlescent envelopes so you can see all your options!
What kind of paper do you use?
For Digital Press, our standard paper stock is an 120 lb. cover weight paper with a cotton textured finish. We also offer a pearlescent paper as an upgrade . They are both a minimum of 30% recycled with post consumer waste, FSC certified and processed chlorine free. Both papers have a nice, sturdy feel in the hand. If you care about paper texture but are on a tight budget, digital press would be your best bet.
For Offset Press, we print on a coated super smooth 16 pt cardstock (350 gsm) with a satin finish that is SFI certified and a minimum of 30% recycled. (Glossy UV coating is available for postcards).
For Letterpress, our printing is done on 110 lb. cover, 100% cotton paper which is entirely tree-free and offers a beautiful imprint.
What eco-friendly products do you offer?
Check out this page for the latest on our efforts to operate in an eco-friendly manner.
Do you offer custom design and illustration?
We do! Dave is an award-winning illustrator that can work wonders with your ideas, and Carrie isn’t too bad at illustration, herself. ; )
Can the design I like be customized? / Can I change the colors, font style, etc? / Can I get X in lieu of Y?
Of course! We are a totally custom design studio. With Señor & Señora you can customize the colors, font style and text of any of our designs to make it truly represent YOU. We can also create completely custom designs to suit your wedding or event. Want a postcard RSVP instead of traditional one? No problem! Contact us to schedule an appointment or talk over the phone to discuss your idea or theme. We can make it happen!
Do you offer references?
Sure can! References are available upon request. We also have reviews written about us from past clients on Yelp and WeddingWire. Read all about us!
